Sing unto the Lord a new song
On account of the new things before prophesied of, and now done; on account of redemption and salvation by Christ, and the conversion of the Gentiles through the light of the Gospel brought among them; the song of redeeming love, and for the Gospel, and regenerating grace; and not the Jews only, but the Gentiles also, are called upon to sing this song, as having a special share in the blessings, the subject of it: hence it follows, and his praise from the end of the earth;
thither the Gospel being sent, and there made effectual to the conversion of many, these are exhorted to sing and show forth the praises of him who had called them out of Heathenish blindness and darkness into the marvellous light of the Gospel and grace of God: ye that go down into the sea;
in ships, that trade by sea; such as the Phoenicians, Tyrians, and Sidonians, to whom the Gospel came, and where it was preached with success, to the conversion of many of them, and therefore had reason to join in this new song; see ( Acts 11:19 ) ( Acts 21:3 Acts 21:4 ) or such that went by sea to distant parts, on purpose to publish the Gospel, as Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy; and who, succeeding in their work, had reason to rejoice; see ( Acts 13:4 ) ( 16:11 ) ( 20:13 ) ( 21:1 ) : and all that is therein:
or "the fulness of it" F19; meaning not the fishes in it, but the islands of it, as next explained: the isles, and the inhabitants thereof;
as Cyprus, Crete, and other isles, which heard the joyful sound of the Gospel, and embraced it, ( Acts 13:4 ) ( Titus 1:5 ) , and, as the sea often denotes the western part of the world from Judea, this may design the European parts of it, and the islands in it, particularly ours of Great Britain and Ireland, whither the Gospel came very early.